1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feed path selection mechanism for sheets of paper or the like equipped with a selecting gate which selects the feed path of the sheets of paper or the like, and to an image forming apparatus using this mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional feed path selection mechanism for sheets of paper or the like in an image forming apparatus comprises a gate plate, a solenoid having a plunger which is operatively connected to the gate plate, and a solenoid driving circuit for actuating the solenoid. When the solenoid is excited, the plunger is retracted to rotate the gate plate in a first direction whereby the gate plate is stopped at the first position. This produces the gate open condition, allowing a sheet of paper that has been copied on to one side to be again fed to a loading unit for copying on both sides. On the other hand, when the excitation of the solenoid is removed, no attractive force is applied to the plunger. As a result, the gate plate is rotated in a second direction opposite to the first direction and stopped at the second position. This produces the gate closed condition, so that a sheet of paper, after having been copied on, is discharged to the outside of the apparatus.
In the conventional feed path selection mechanism as described above, the solenoid that is electrically actuated is used as the drive source of the gate plate. This therefore necessitated a solenoid, its mounting bracket, a connecting link, and a solenoid driving circuit etc, causing the problem of high cost. Also, extra space is required to mount the solenoid, resulting in the problem of increased size of the device as a whole.